Visualization of the strain-induced topological phase transition in a quasi-one-dimensional superconductor TaSe3

Chun Lin; Masayuki Ochi; Ryo Noguchi; Kenta Kuroda; Masahito Sakoda; Atsushi Nomura; Masakatsu Tsubota; Peng Zhang; Cedric Bareille; Kifu Kurokawa; Yosuke Arai; Kaishu Kawaguchi; Hiroaki Tanaka; Koichiro Yaji; Ayumi Harasawa; Makoto Hashimoto; Donghui Lu; Shik Shin; Ryotaro Arita; Satoshi Tanda; Takeshi Kondo

doi:10.1038/s41563-021-01004-4

Visualization of the strain-induced topological phase transition in a quasi-one-dimensional superconductor TaSe₃

Nat Mater. 2021 Aug;20(8):1093-1099. doi: 10.1038/s41563-021-01004-4. Epub 2021 May 20.

Authors

Chun Lin¹, Masayuki Ochi², Ryo Noguchi¹, Kenta Kuroda¹, Masahito Sakoda³, Atsushi Nomura⁴, Masakatsu Tsubota⁵, Peng Zhang¹, Cedric Bareille¹, Kifu Kurokawa¹, Yosuke Arai¹, Kaishu Kawaguchi¹, Hiroaki Tanaka¹, Koichiro Yaji^{1

6}, Ayumi Harasawa¹, Makoto Hashimoto⁷, Donghui Lu⁷, Shik Shin⁸, Ryotaro Arita^{9

10}, Satoshi Tanda^{3

11}, Takeshi Kondo^{12

13}

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan.
² Department of Physics, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Japan.
³ Department of Applied Physics, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Japan.
⁴ Department of Physics, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Department of Physics, Gakushuin University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁶ Research Center for Advanced Measurement and Characterization, National Institute for Materials Science, Ibaraki, Japan.
⁷ Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, USA.
⁸ Office of University Professor, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan.
⁹ RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, Wako, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Applied Physics, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
¹¹ Center of Education and Research for Topological Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Japan.
¹² Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan. kondo1215@issp.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
¹³ Trans-scale Quantum Science Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. kondo1215@issp.u-tokyo.ac.jp.

PMID: 34017119
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-021-01004-4

Abstract

Control of the phase transition from topological to normal insulators can allow for an on/off switching of spin current. While topological phase transitions have been realized by elemental substitution in semiconducting alloys, such an approach requires preparation of materials with various compositions. Thus it is quite far from a feasible device application, which demands a reversible operation. Here we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to visualize the strain-driven band-structure evolution of the quasi-one-dimensional superconductor TaSe₃. We demonstrate that it undergoes reversible strain-induced topological phase transitions from a strong topological insulator phase with spin-polarized, quasi-one-dimensional topological surface states, to topologically trivial semimetal and band insulating phases. The quasi-one-dimensional superconductor TaSe₃ provides a suitable platform for engineering the topological spintronics, for example as an on/off switch for a spin current that is robust against impurity scattering.